Measurement of PFAS in indoor air and investigation of source materials

PFAS contamination is not limited to water and soil—these persistent chemicals are also present in indoor environments, including air, dust, and consumer products. Accurate detection is essential for understanding exposure risks and advancing research on indoor air quality.

In this application note, Markes investigates the performance of its TD100-xr™ high-throughput automated thermal desorption (TD) instrument. The instrument is coupled to a gas chromatograph (GC) and a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer (MS/MS) for PFAS analysis. This combination enables measurement of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in indoor air, detecting levels as low as 1 pg for Me-FOSA. When utilizing sampling chambers to test materials, it becomes possible to identify the PFAS released into indoor air and quantify the emission rate of such release.